Concert Music
Premier of Bruce Babcock's “Springscape” on May 22, 2007 in Berkeley, California
Composed for and performed by The Debussy Trio, Bruce Babcock's latest classical work, “Springscape” will be premiered at the finale concert in the Berkeley Chamber Performances 2006-2007 season.
The ensemble, which is composed of Marcia Dickstein (Harp), Angela Wiegand (Flute) and David Walther (Viola,) has also included "Springscape" on their 20th anniversary recordings CD after the piece won the 2007 Debussy Trio International Composition competition.
The Debussy Trio
The May 22 performance takes place at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Street, and more information may be obtained at www.berkeleychamberperform.org.
Canterbury and Coventry Choir Spring Concert to feature Bruce Babcock's “Send Me Anywhere”
Composed for the Canterbury Choir of All Saints Church, James Walker, Director of Music, Bruce Babcock's “Send Me Anywhere,” based on a text by John Shelby Spong, had its World Premier in 2006, and will be part of a diverse and exciting program for the Canterbury and Coventry Choir concert taking place at All Saints Church, Pasadena, California on Sunday, June 3 at 5 p.m.
More information about the concert offering works by Schütz, Parsons, Stanford, Poulenc, Nestor, Brahms, Poelinitz, Lauridsen, Britten, Thompson and spirituals arranged by Hogan and Dawson, may be obtained from Melissa Hayes, telephone (626) 583 2725 or by email mhayes@allsaints-pas.org
"irrational exuberance" To Be Presented at UCLA
Composer Bruce Babcock will be in attendance at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall for the official World Premier of his "irrational exuberance" on May 24 at 8 pm.
The work was commissioned for and will be performed by Douglas Masek, saxophone (along with Gloria Cheng, piano and David Speltz, cello).
Tickets may be obtained from the UCLA Central Ticket Office at (310) 825-2101or cto@be.ucla.edu. Other works on the program include J. Nin, C. Koechlin, Carlos Franzetti, Marc Eychenne and
Adrienne Albert.
PREMIER OF BRUCE BABCOCK'S “SEND ME ANYWHERE” ON NOVEMBER 12, 2006
Bruce Babcock's new composition, "Send Me Anywhere," an a cappella setting of a blessing by Bishop John Shelby Spong, was premiered by The fifty voices of Canterbury Choir of All Saints Church in Pasadena under the direction of James Walker, at an Evensong service on November 12, 2006 . (The piece was also performed November 19 at the Sunday morning services.)
MUSIC & CONVERSATIONS SEASON OPENS WITH BRUCE BABCOCK COMPOSITION
Bruce Babcock's composition, irrational exuberance,” commissioned by Los Angeles Philharmonic alto saxophonist Doug Masek, with Kim Scholes, cello, and Delores Stevens, piano opens the 2006/2007 season of MUSIC & CONVERSATIONS on November 11, 2006
The concert, which also includes works by J.S. Bach, Charles Koechlin and Ludwig van Beethoven, Begins at 8 pm, and will be held at the Mt. Washington home of Alan Goldman
For more information, contact <mailto:musicandconversations@yahoo.com>
BRUCE BABCOCK PART OF "VOICES OF HOLLYWOOD" CONCERT PROGRAM
"imagined/remembered," a sonata for cello and piano by Bruce Babcock, was performed as part of the “Voices of Hollywood” concert on Friday, August 11, 2006 .
Commissioned by and premiered at the 2005 Santa Barbara Chamber Music Festival, the work was performed by Jakub Omsky, cello, and Genevieve Lee, piano.
Other composers on the program at the Sanctuary, Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church included John Williams, Aaron Zigman, Don Davis, Erich Korngold, Bruce Broughton and Andre Previn. More information at http://www.bhmusicfestival.org/
Bruce Babcock, Aaron Zigman, Bruce Broughton and Don Davis
Photo by Annamaria DeSanto
Third Annual Beverly Hills International Music Festival by Jon Burlingame
(reprinted from the Film Music Society website)
"BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - "Voices of Hollywood," staged Friday night, Aug. 11, as part of the third annual Beverly Hills International Music Festival, offered a rare opportunity to hear chamber music by film and television composers.
Four of the six living composers represented on the program attended: Bruce Broughton, Aaron Zigman, Bruce Babcock and Don Davis. Also featured were pieces by John Williams, André Previn and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. About 160 attended the concert, held in the historic sanctuary of the 80-year-old Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church.
The diverse and often compelling program began with Broughton's "Variations for Flute and Piano," written for a music publisher in 2000. Flutist Susan Greenberg and pianist Genevieve Lee played this delightfully melodic four-minute opener.
Lee and bassoonist Judith Farmer next performed three movements of a bassoon-and-piano version of John Williams' well-known bassoon concerto, "The Five Sacred Trees": The melancholy "Eo Migna," lively "Tortan" and contemplative "Dathi."
Receiving its world premiere was a new work, especially written for the concert by Aaron Zigman (The Notebook, Akeelah and the Bee). Titled "Vis Vitae" ("Lifeforce"), it was written for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and piano and conducted by the composer.
As Zigman wrote in the program notes: "Transitions from loss and rejection have always been difficult for me. These changes are made easier by the saving grace of music. Through my writing, I am able to examine and channel certain perceptions into healthy creativity. In `Vis Vitae,' I use impressionism as a guide through this corridor. I know that a renewed sense of hope and self await me on the other side." The moods of the 10-minute, single-movement piece ranged from gloomy to delicate, serene to exuberant, and it was warmly received.
Opening the second half were 18 minutes of Bruce Babcock's "Imagined / Remembered," a sonata for cello and piano performed by charismatic cellist Jakub Omsky and pianist Lee. Originally commissioned for the 2005 Santa Barbara Chamber Music Festival, it began with an exciting and evocative allegro movement, shifted into a dark and then wildly romantic lento, and concluded with an buoyant and energetic presto. Once again, the composer was acknowledged and the virtuoso piece lauded.
Lightening the mood was Don Davis' 1999 "Illicit Felicity" for solo piano, played by Tatyana Stepanova. Originally written as a source cue for the film Bound, it made for diverting fun, including quotations from Chopin, Beethoven, Bizet and even Randy Newman's "I Love L.A."
Two of Korngold's seven "Sieben Marchenbilder (Seven Fairy-Tale Pictures)" for solo piano were also performed by Stepanova: the dramatic "The Goblins" and lyrical "Fairy Tale's Epilogue." It was a remarkable accomplishment, considering that the composer was all of 13 when he wrote them in 1910, and yet they hinted at the kind of romantic music he would write a quarter-century later for Warner Bros.' Errol Flynn swashbucklers.
Concluding the program were two movements from Andre Previn's "Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon," impressively performed by oboist Anne Gabriele, bassoonist Farmer and pianist Bryan Pezzone.
The concert was organized by Gernot Wolfgang, composer-in-residence for the festival, whose own chamber works were performed in two concerts during the previous week."
Bruce Babcock Choral Piece premiered by
The Donald Brinegar Singers
"Songs of the Night," two settings of poems by Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) for a cappella chorus, composed by Bruce Babcock, was premiered by the Los Angeles-based Donald Brinegar Singers on January 22, 2006 at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara.
NEW BRUCE BABCOCK WORKS PREMIERED
AT SANTA BARBARA CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Bruce Babcock was the Composer-In-Residence at the 2005 Santa Barbara Chamber Music Festival June 10-12.
Three of his compositions had their world premier at the Festival - a new string quartet entitled "the present moment," a new sonata for violoncello and piano "imagined/remembered" and a set of three piano "Metaphors." Also featured on the Festival program was his "TRIO" for clarinet, viola and piano and "Soliloquy" for solo flute.
Commentary on the event included the following reviews:
”Mr. Babcock's TRIO (for clarinet, viola and piano, 2003) featured a multitude of original ideas matched by a keen sensitivity to the color and character of his chosen instruments. Listeners rejoiced in the perky, quirky spirit of this superbly crafted piece.”
Santa Barbara News Press.
”Babcock has a unique and very pleasant voice.”
Santa Barbara Independent
Seattle's Rainier String Quartet -- Ron Patterson and Ella Marie Gray violins, Roxanna Patterson viola and Walter Gray cello -- anchored each of the three Festival concerts as core artists, together with David Peck, principal clarinetist of the Houston Symphony, pianist Meade Crane of Seattle's QUAKE Ensemble, Los Angeles-based flutist Ann Erwin and Edith Orloff, founding pianist of The Pacific Trio-- all dedicated to celebrating American chamber music.
Adding fresh color and diversity to the programming, percussionist Ross Sears of the San Luis Obispo Symphony was the special guest in performances of John Thow's Chumash Songs for violin, clarinet, piano and percussion and an arrangement for marimba and piano by Professor Sears of three movements from Ingolf Dahl's Divertimento for viola and piano.Additional works in this summer's celebration of American chamber music included masterpieces by Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, Peter Schickele, Samuel Barber and John Biggs, among others.
Josef Woodard of the Santa Barbara News-Press called the event "one of the most exciting new developments on the local cultural landscape."
More information about the event can be obtained on the Santa Barbara Chamber Music Festival website http://www.sbchambermusicfest.com/
NEXT:
The music of Emmy-winning composer Bruce Babcock has graced countless hours of television programming. See some of the highlights.
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